At Odds with God BAND of BROTHERS 2021 but Jonah Rose

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o He seemed to believe that Yahweh only ruled over and in Israel o Yahweh was all-powerful but had limited reach o Jonah knew God intellectually

I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. – Jonah 4:2 NLT

o But he didn’t know God intimately

“My people are foolish and do not know me,” says the LORD. “They are stupid children who have no understanding.” – Jeremiah 4:22 NLT

o Jonah couldn’t comprehend God’s ways o He couldn’t see what God was doing o He was blind to God’s grand redemptive plan

Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! – Romans 11:33 NLT

“…my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” – Isaiah 58:8 NLT

- Bad theology leads to poor praxeology o What we believe about God directly influences our behavior o Our concept of God determines our conduct on behalf of God

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us....and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like.” – A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy

o Jonah thought he could run away from God But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. – Jonah 1:3 ESV

§ Jonah thought he could avoid God’s will by fleeing from God’s presence § He obviously wasn’t familiar with Psalm 139

Psalm 139:7-12 NLT I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me,

and your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night— but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.

• Stormy seas But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a might tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. – Jonah 1:4 ESV

You can make many plans, but the LORD’s purpose will prevail. – Proverbs 19:21 NLT

A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. – Proverbs 16:9 BSB

- Jonah could run, but he couldn’t hide - God had told His rebellious people:

“Even if they hide at the very top of Mount Carmel, I will search them out and capture them. Even if they hide at the bottom of the ocean, I will send the sea serpent after them to bite them.” – Amos 9:3 NLT

- The sovereign will of God …the Lord hurled a great wind… – 1:4 …the Lord appointed a great fish… – 1:17 …the Lord spoke to the fish… – 2:10 …the Lord God appointed a plant… – 4:6 …God appointed a worm… – 4:7

Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. – Jonah 1:5 ESV

- Jonah was on a ship full of pagans o He was a Jew surrounded by Gentiles o They were all experiencing God’s wrath o And they were all in danger of dying for the sins of one man

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. – Romans 5:12 NLT

So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all

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- These verses provide is with an interesting look at God o The author does something interesting o He refers to God by three different names in his book the Lord – Yᵊhōvâ – Jehovah § the proper name of the God of Israel § “the self-existent one” or “the eternal one” § the Jews wrote it as a tetragrammaton: YHWH o This book mentions God 39 times in 48 verses § 22 times YHWH is used § But 13 times, the author uses Elohim god – 'ĕlōhîm - a generic term for gods - Can mean “divine ones” - But was often used to refer to the supreme God

“Arise, call out to your god ('ĕlōhîm)!”

§ These men, as Gentiles, had no relationship with YHWH § They were polytheists – believing in the existence of many gods § They were calling out to their personal elohims § They wanted Jonah to call on his § They were equal-opportunity idolaters who would take help from any Elohim § But they had been praying while Jonah was sleeping § They were hoping some god would “give a thought to them” ʿāšaṯ (aw-shath’) – “to shine, to call to mind”

- They were desperate men in need of salvation - They longed for some elohim to shine on them

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. – Numbers 6:24-26 ESV

Romans 10:11-13 NLT As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For “Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.

“But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”

§ Jonah’s silence condemns him - He says nothing - He utters no prayer - He never mentions the name of his Elohim - He failed to be a “light to the nations”

• The lot is cast And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. – Jonah 1:7 ESV

- These men knew this was a spiritual matter - Someone on the ship was guilty of something - So, they resorted to the casting of lots

The practice of casting lots is mentioned seventy times in the Old Testament and seven times in the New Testament. In spite of the many references to casting lots in the Old Testament, nothing is known about the actual lots themselves. They could have been sticks of various lengths, flat stones like coins, or some kind of dice; but their exact nature is unknown. The closest modern practice to casting lots is likely flipping a coin. – www.gotquestions.org

In the ancient Near East, casting lots was a custom used to try to receive a revelation from the gods about a particular situation. The Phoenician sailors here cried out to their gods and cast lots in the hope that one of their gods might reveal the identity of the person with whom he was angry. – NET Bible Study Notes

- The lot fell on Jonah nāp̄al (naw-fal’) – to cause to fall o Jonah’s downward spiritual spiral continues o God exposed Jonah as the cause of their “evil” o He brought bad luck rather than good news o He was a source of cursing, not blessing

• For further thought Read Jonah 4:2. If Jonah truly believed this, why do you think he failed to tell the sailors about his Elohim?

The sailors were religious men, but they were calling out to the wrong gods. People are doing the same thing today. What kind of “gods” are they looking to for salvation? How can we help?

Take some time to discuss Romans 10:11-13.